


Perfect

by daegal



Series: Perfect [1]
Category: Merlin (TV)
Genre: M/M, Modern AU, Office, not merthur, personal assistant!Merlin
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-04-12
Updated: 2017-04-12
Packaged: 2018-10-17 22:05:02
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,826
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10603194
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/daegal/pseuds/daegal
Summary: When Daegal is appointed Arthur's new PA by Uther, Arthur is not happy. Merlin on the other hand, finds this great as he is now to be Uther's PA and can now get away from the awkward tension of the aftermath of his and Arthur's failed relationship. Daegal is just cute, dammit.





	

**Author's Note:**

> Just so you know, this isn't an Arthur/Merlin fic. I'm normally a Merthur shipper, but this ship is just so cute. I don't want any confusion :)

"Merlin, have you been speaking to my father again?!" Arthur demanded, walking into the staff room, a hand on his hip.

Freya snorted. "Again?"

"I don't want to talk about it" I told her, shaking my head. I turned back to Arthur. "And of course not. I'd rather not end up in a two week fight again, no thank you. Why would you even think that?"

"He's called a meeting. With just the two of us" Arthur explained, grabbing a coffee capsule and putting it into the machine. "Dammit, can you stop taking lunch breaks? Now I have to make my own coffee."

"Aw, you poor thing" Gwaine said, pouting at the man. "I can't believe Merlin would take a lunch break when you so obviously needed him. How selfish."

Arthur obviously didn't pick up on the sarcasm as he just nodded in agreement. "I know right! Finally, someone with some sense around here."

"I want Gwen" I interrupted. "Someone needs to keep you in check."

"Stop being so rude to me, Merlin" he replied. "I'll have you know, I'm basically in charge of you."

I rolled his eyes, looking down at my watch. "Wow, that's great. Anyways, what time is the meeting?"

"Five minutes ago" Arthur replied, opening the door. "Come on, let's go."

"I hate you" I mumbled, following the boy out of the staffroom and into the main office rooms.

Will looked up at me. "Dude, Uther's looking for you. You're probably in mad trouble. What'd you do this time? Fuck Morgana?"

"Fuck off, William" Arthur said, rolling his eyes. "Besides, Morgana would never stoop that low. No offence, Merlin."

"May I remind you that we used to fuck" I snapped back. "Accent on the used to. There's no way I'd go near your crusty ass again."

"Do you want to fight me?" Arthur asked, raising an eyebrow. "Also, did you get my files done?"

"Stapled and on your desk" I winked. We both walked into Uther's office, and I nodded. "Mr Pendragon."

He shook my hand. "Take a seat. Both of you. Don't worry, you're not in trouble. However, you could've been here on time."

"To be fair, Arthur only told me five minutes after we were supposed to be here, so you can blame him" I protested, as we both sat down.

Arthur growled. "Why do you always-"

"Anyway, I have some news to tell you. As of tomorrow, Daegal will be assisting Merlin in all of his activities" Uther informed us, pointing to a young boy who was now walking in the door.

I smiled. "Aw, you're so cute."

"Merlin?! An assistant?!" Arthur scoffed. "What on earth would he need an assistant for? He sits on his ass all day. He doesn't need any help with that."

"Daegal, come sit" Uther said to the boy. He turned back to his son. "Merlin does his work diligently. He's a great personal assistant. In fact, I think he's grown out of you. So, I'll be using him as my new personal assistant, and you'll have Daegal. Once Hilda retires, Merlin will take over her spot. Until then, Daegal will stay with Merlin and learn the ropes."

I laughed loudly. "Oh, that's so great. Also, Daegal, lovely to meet you."

The boy blushed, nodding at me. "Hi, you too."

"I'm sure you'll have some space at your desk for him, Merlin" Uther said. "I trust that you'll treat him well and teach him everything he needs to know."

Arthur shook his head. "Father, you can't just steal my personal assistants. Merlin didn't even agree to it."

"Oh, I'm fine with it" i said, laughing. I looked over at Daegal. "Come on, I'll show you around. It's still my lunch break."

*  
"So you and Arthur are dating?" Daegal asked, staring at me. "You guys seem pretty close."

I shook my head, laughing. "No. But we used to. We ended it because he thought that he had to appear tough and manly, so he wanted to pretend to be straight. He asked out Gwen and she doesn't know that's why we broke up. But it's been two months now, and they're still happy together somehow."

Daegal nodded. "That's cool, I guess. Wouldn't it be awkward, though?"

I shrugged. "Not really. There's some tension there, but it's probably best not to have a relationship with your boss anyway."

The boy smiled. "I can imagine."

"Anyway, this is the staffroom" I said, opening the door and leading him inside. I smiled. "Everyone, this is Daegal. He's basically my apprentice since Arthur's dad wants me as his personal assistant now instead. Daegal will take over my spot soon."

Morgana cooed. "Oh, aren't you the cutest thing ever!"

He blushed, but remained silent. Freya looked up. "Well, hi, I'm Freya. I feel sorry that you have to work for Arthur now."

"He can't be that bad, right?" Daegal asked, sounding like he was trying to convince himself rather than the others.

"My brother is intolerable. I don't know why you even signed up for this, to be honest" Morgana said. "Oh, and I'm Morgana Pendragon, by the way."

Daegal accepted the hug she gave him. "Oh, thank you. Lovely to meet you."

"You want some coffee?" I asked him.

Will nodded, now sitting down on the couch, opening his sandwich. "Merlin makes the best coffee. You should accept it while you can."

"Oh, I'd love some then" he replied, sounding surprised.

"So, how old are you?" Gwaine asked, winking.

I rolled his eyes, starting the coffee machine. "Gwaine, leave this one alone. He's too pure. Go fuck Elena or something."

"Don't be rude" Gwaine said. "Let the boy speak."

Daegal nodded. "Twenty two."

"Oh good. So you're legal" Gwaine said, leaning against the wall. "You into guys?"

"Daegal, you don't have to answer that. Don't listen to Gwaine, he's a snake" I advised.

Gwaine winked. "True. I do have a snake in my pants too, Merlin, if you're still interested."

"Shut up, that was one time" I dismissed, handing Daegal the coffee. "Come on, I'll show you my desk. I'll see if I can get you an office chair too."

The boy happily accepted the hot coffee and followed me around until I managed to acquire an office chair and dragged it to his desk. "Here, you go. You can sit here with me."

"Thank you so much, Merlin" he said, sending me a small smile. "You've been really kind to me."

I shrugged, it wasn't that big of a deal. "No worries. Wish I had someone to prepare me for Arthur."

"Is he really that scary?" The boy asked, sounding nervous.

"He has his moments, but he'll treat you fine" I assured him. "And if he does anything to you, come straight to me."

"Oh, Merlin! Where've you been?" Arthur said, walking up to my desk.

I rolled his eyes. "Don't play stupid. I literally just told you and your dad that I was showing Daegal around the place."

"Stop talking to me like that, I'm your boss" Arthur said, rolling his eyes. He looked a Daegal. "Oh, Merlin, I'll take a coffee too."

"I hate you so much" I dead panned, watching Arthur walk into his office. Merlin turned to the boy next to him. "Do you want to go make a coffee for Arthur? I'd really appreciate it. I need to get this paperwork done."

"Of course" he said, standing up and walking away. I noted his eagerness, smiling softly to myself. Daegal was so small and cute, and I was pretty sure I was already in love with him.

I was almost finished when I heard Arthur yelling. I let out a small sigh, walking into the office and frowning. "What are you doing?"

"He didn't make my coffee properly!" Arthur yelled, pointing at Daegal.

"Stop, it's only his first day here. It's my fault, I didn't think to teach him how to make one or use the machine!" I shouted back.

He shook his head. "Your coffees were perfectly fine on your first day!"

"Yeah, because I have the same coffee machine. And besides, I'm fucking bomb at making coffee!" I pointed out. "He doesn't know how to use the machine, I wasn't thinking."

"Go make a better one then!" He said, looking at Daegal.

I finally snapped. "Arthur, give it a rest! It's his first day, maybe stop yelling so loud! I could hear you screaming from my own fucking desk! Do you think that's what a kid needs on his first day here?! For the whole office to know that he accidentally made your coffee wrong, Jesus Christ!"

Arthur looked shocked. "Oh, sure, take his side."

"Come on" I said, putting my hand on Daegal's shoulder to lead him outside Arthur's office. "We'll be back with a coffee, your highness."

"I'm really sorry, Merlin" the boy said, following me out of the office and into the staffroom. "I didn't mean to make the coffee wrong. I thought it was okay."

I frowned. "Pass me the coffee you made. It smells fine."

"Um, okay" he said, handing me the cup.

I took a sip. "What the fuck? It tastes fine. Good, even. Oh my god, that guy is such a dick. Did you tell him that you made it?"

Daegal nodded. "Yeah, I didn't know he'd have a problem with it."

"Don't worry, you go make another coffee and I'll take it in and see if he thinks I made it. You're doing a great job, alright?" I said, patting the poor boy's shoulder.

He frowned, however went to make another coffee. "Doesn't feel like it."

"Geez, what did Arthur do this time?" Gwen asked, walking into the staffroom and taking one look at my face. "Oh, who's this?"

"Hi, I'm Daegal. You're Arthur's girlfriend, right?" He introduced himself, still a little shaky after Arthur's outburst. I didn't mind, he was still cute.

Gwen chuckled. "Yeah, that's me. Gwen. It's nice to meet you, Daegal."

"Yeah, yeah" I interrupted them. "Arthur was being a dick to him. Daegal made him a coffee, which tastes exactly like mine anyway, and he threw a fit about it."

"Oh, is that what all the yelling was about?" She asked, mouth opening. "I'll have to talk to him. Really, you're very sweet. I don't think you'd purposely ruin his coffee."

"You finished with the coffee yet, Daegal?" I asked, getting tired. I knew it wasn't the boy's fault, but I couldn't wait for the day to be over, so I could go home and get some takeaway.

He nodded, bringing the cup over to me. "Do you want me to wait at your desk while you go in or something? I don't want you guys to fight because of me."

"No, you can come. See ya, Gwen" I said, taking the cup and walking into Arthur's office, my apprentice on my tail.

Arthur looked up. "Finally. Did he make it?"

I shook his head, handing him the coffee. "No, I did. So you're welcome."

Arthur took a sip. "Mm, yes, much better."

"You're an actual dick, Arthur Pendragon" I said, shaking my head. The audacity of the man killed me.

"What did I do?" Arthur asked, raising an eyebrow. "And don't call me a dick. At least, not in public. It's against WHS."

"Arthur, Daegal made that cup. Exactly like he made the first one. You just didn't like it because you didn't want to" I sighed.

"Well, this is awkward, isn't it?" Arthur said, chuckling. "Well, congratulations, Daegal. I think it's just good that my next assistant will be able to make a good coffee too."

I gaped. Where were his manners? "That's it? You're not going to apologise for going off your nut at him?"

"Apologies aren't my strong suit, Merlin" he replied, laughing.

"Don't I know it" I muttered. "Anything we can do for you?"

Arthur shrugged. "Just go finish your paperwork. You can go home once you're done that."

"Are you coming to the pub tonight?" I asked him. I knew that Arthur rarely came anymore since we broke up. It wasn't because there was tension, it was because Arthur only used to go because of me, and he usually worked late.

"Maybe. I don't know" Arthur said. "If I finish on time, I'll go. Hey, Daegal, why don't you come?"

I nodded, looking at the boy. "Yeah, do you want to come out tonight? It's just a group of our friends."

"Um, I guess" he answered.

I grinned. "Need a lift?"

*

"I didn't know there were going to be this many people" Daegal said quietly to me.

I shook my head. "No, don't worry. I'm sure they all love you. You're too cute to hate."

Daegal blushed. "Thanks."

"That's alright" I replied, laughing. "You should lighten up. No one's going to bite. Except maybe Gwaine."

The other man looked up, his head snapping in the direction of Daegal and I. "I heard my name! Are you two gossiping about me?"

I nodded. "Yeah, you and your big head."

He flashed a smile. "I do what I can, Merlin. Oh, Percy, that's Daegal. The cute one next to Merlin."

"Oh, hi, I'm Percival" the buff man said. "Welcome to the group. I heard you're working for Arthur now."

Daegal shrugged. "Yeah, hopefully. I kind of need the job."

"Whereabouts do you live?" I asked, trying not to sound too creepy. I didn't want to scare away the boy just yet.

"Uh, you know, in the area" he said, shrugging. "I'm just living with a family right now, they took me in."

I lowered my voice, having a feeling that this was turning into a more private conversation. We didn't need to be so quiet though, as our friends were all chatting loudly anyway. "Took you in from where?"

"I was by myself for a while" Daegal said, getting the message to be quiet. "After my mum died, I had no family, so I just kind of wandered around."

"Well, it's good that you found somewhere to stay" I said. "They're taking care of you, right?"

Daegal nodded. "Mm, yep."

"So, your name is pretty unique. What does it mean?" I asked, genuinely curious.

"Well, there's a few meanings. One is anglo-Saxon, but my mum always preferred the Scandinavian meaning better" he explained. "It means Dawn. She always told me that she liked it because I gave her a new beginning."

I nodded. "I'm really sorry about your mum. You should meet my mum. She'd love you."

"Do you still love Arthur" he asked out of nowhere. "If you don't mind me asking."

"Of course not" I answered, shaking head. "I mean, I never did love him in the first place. I don't think I ever even said it to him."

"Thank you for bringing me here tonight, Merlin" he said, smiling brightly.

I shrugged. "It's fine. Besides, Arthur was the one to invite you. I honestly think he'll come around to like you."

"I hope so" he said, frowning. "I don't want to be around him if he doesn't like me. He scares me as it is."

"If worst comes to worst, I'll talk to Uther about it. See if we can swap. Maybe he could let you work for him instead. He loves me" I stated. I saw Daegal start to shiver and frowned as I saw that the boy was only wearing a button up short sleeve. "Hey, you want my jacket?"

"No, it's fine. You can keep it" he said, shaking his head. "I'm not cold anyway."

I took off my jacket, rolling my eyes and slipped it onto Daegal's shoulders. "It's fine. I'm wearing a long sleeve. Unlike someone."

"Thank you" he said, blushing and slipping his arms into the sleeves. "I didn't know it would get this cold."

I chuckled, looking at how big the jacket was. "You know, I'm used to being the skinny one, so it's funny that it's so big on you."

Daegal smiled. "Yeah, I guess I'm pretty small. But I'm mature, I swear."

"I'm sure you are" I said, admiring the boy's shy smile. "You're twenty two, right?"

He nodded. "Yeah. How old are you?"

"Oh god, I'm so old. Thirty" I replied, laughing.

"That's not old" he replied. "Morgana was telling me that Arthur was thirty five. That's older than you."

"Well, he certainly acts it" I snorted. "You ready to go home?"

He nodded. "Yeah, let's go. It's getting colder."

I stood up. "Alright, guys, we're gonna head out."

"Merlin, it's only eleven!" Gwaine exclaimed, laughing. "Stay!"

"No, I'm taking Daegal home too" I said, jingling my keys. "I'll see you all tomorrow. Come on Daegal."

The boy followed me out of the pub and into the cold air of the night, making me frown. "You're right, it is getting cold. Is that snow?"

He held his hand out, chuckling. "Yeah. Oh wait, no, it's raining now. Ew."

"Come on, get to the car" I said, jogging towards it and unlocking the door so that we could get in. As soon as I sat down, it started bucketing down.

I sighed, watching a soaked Daegal get into the car. He shook his head, trying to wipe water off my jacket, but it was already seeping into the material. "I'm so sorry about the jacket and the car seat. They're all wet."

I chuckled. "It's not your fault. You can't control the rain."

"I know, but maybe if I had walked-"

"Daegal, it's okay!" I said, laughing. "Is it even safe to drive?"

He shrugged. "I don't know. You can't really see properly."

"Yeah, exactly. And your place is pretty far from here" I stated, trying to think of a way to get him home in all this rain.

He opened the door. "Oh, well it's okay. I can walk home or something. Or maybe I can get someone else to take me."

"Don't be stupid, you're not walking home. That would be at least 2 fucking hours in the pouring rain" I said, leaning over to close his door again. "Just come home with me. I live two minutes away."

"Would that be okay with you?" He asked slowly.

I nodded, smiling. "As long as it's okay with you."

"I would really appreciate it" he said, smiling shyly.

I grinned. "Alright, I'll take you then. I do live with a girl though, Mithian. We're not dating, obviously. You know, the whole gay thing."

"Oh that's fine" he said, nodding. "I am too. Gay."

"Cool" I said, smiling. He was so cute. I started the car and began driving, trying to see in the dark, and through the rain. A massive hit was heard at the top of my car. "Oh my god, what was that?"

He looked out the window as I continued to drive. "I'm not sure. Was that hail?"

"Oh god, of course it's fucking hailing" I said. I gasped. "Oh fuck! I think I left the cats outside! Oh my god."

I threw my phone at Daegal. "Quick call my roommate, Mithian. Tell her to bring the cats inside!"

"What's your password?!" He asked, frantically.

"0806" I shouted back, stressing out. "Oh god, my babies!"

He called the number and sighed in relief. "Mithian, is that you? Thank god. Yeah, this is Daegal, you don't know me. But Merlin's driving and he's left the cats outside, so can you bring them in? It's hailing."

He turned to me. "She's bringing them in now. She said they're fine."

"Thank god" I said, letting out a breath. "You can hang up on her now."

"Um, I'll let you go now. Yeah, no, I'm just a coworker. Yeah, I gotta go. Alright, nice talking to you" he said, hanging up. "She was sweet. I like her."

"Yeah, she's a real sweetheart" I said, nodding. "Too bad she didn't notice that my cats were left out in the rain."

When we got back to my flat, we were both drenched. I sighed, turning to Daegal. "You shower first, I'll get you some clothes while you're in there."

"Are you sure?" He asked, looking afraid again as he stood in my living room.

"So, you're Daegal?" Mithian asked, smiling as she walked in. "It's nice to meet you in person."

He blushed. "Oh yeah, sorry about the call. Merlin was freaking out, so I wasn't really thinking properly."

"I haven't heard of you before. Are you new?" She asked. "I just wouldn't believe that Merlin wouldn't mention such a cute, little man."

"Oh, yeah. I only started work today" he told her.

"It's hailing and his house is far away, so I thought he should just stay the night" I explained. "It wouldn't make sense to drive all the way in this weather."

Mithian nodded. "Well, you guys should go shower. I can make us some tea."

"That would be lovely" I said, smiling. "Daegal, I'll show you the bathroom."

*

"Are you warm?" I asked the boy as I sat down next to him, freshly showered.

He was sipping some tea, wrapped up in my clothes and two blankets. "Yes, thank you. I get cold easy. Probably because I'm so skinny."

"I get that" I agreed. "Mithian, can I have my tea now, pretty please?"

She smiled, standing up. "Yeah, I'll be a second. You know, you guys shouldn't be up at one o'clock in the morning when you both have work tomorrow."

"Ew, I forgot" I admitted, wrapping a blanket around my shoulders. "Daegal, do you want to sleep on the couch? Or you can take my bed if you want and I'll take the couch."

"No, I'll take the couch" he said, shaking his head. "I don't want to intrude."

"You guys should just share the bed" Mithian called from the kitchen. "Literally, Daegal just said he gets cold easy and the living room is the coldest part of the flat."

I nodded. "True. I'm fine, if you're fine for it."

The boy nodded. "I'd be fine."

"Great" I said, smiling when Mithian handed me a hot cup of tea. "Thanks, Mith."

She rolled her eyes, sipping her own tea. "Hurry up and get to bed."

"We will" I said, smiling cheekily into my cup as I drank my tea. Once we were both done, I stood up, leading Daegal to my room. "Goodnight, Mithian!"

"Goodnight, boys!"

I got under the covers, feeling cosy in my bed. "Hey, can you turn off the lights while you're standing?"

Daegal flicked the switch, joining me in bed. He slept as far away from me as he could and began shivering in less than a minute. I rolled my eyes. "Daegal?"

"Yeah?"

"Get over here."

He was instantly at my side, burying himself against my chest. "Thanks for letting me sleep here, Merlin."

I chuckled. "That's okay, Daegal."

"Hey, Merlin?"

"Yes?"

"Goodnight."

"Goodnight, Daegal."

*

"Ha! Merlin and Daegal fucked!" Gwaine called out into the office.

"You are so lucky Uther is late today" Morgana said, rolling her eyes at the boy.

I rolled my eyes, almost regretting it at how sore they felt. "We didn't hook up, go away."

Arthur walked in, frowning. "What's going on?"

"Daegal and Merlin had sex last night" Will explained.

"No, we didn't! Oh my god!" I said my frustrated.

"Oh really?" Gwaine said, raising an eyebrow. "Then why is he wearing your shirt and why are both of your eyes red? No offence but the bags under your eyes aren't even Louis Vuitton." 

I sighed. "It was hailing when I went to take him home, so he just stayed at mine. There was no sex involved."

"That's disappointing, I was just about to offer a threesome" he replied. Then he looked at Daegal. "What's up with you, sweet pea? You're not denying it."

He licked his lips. "Um, I'm sorry. I'm just a quiet person in general. I didn't really know what else to say."

"Can everyone get back to work now?" Arthur said, shaking his head.

Morgana shrugged. "I don't know, I quite like this whole office romance thing. I mean, you've done it before, haven't you, Arthur?"

"Yeah, and look how that turned out" he said, gesturing at me.

"The fuck's that s'posed to mean? I was the best lay you ever had" I said, folding my arms over my chest.

"Merlin, calm down. It was a joke" Arthur said.

I sighed. "Whatever, I'm making a coffee."

"Make that two" he added.

"Oh, I want some!" Gwaine called out as I walked away.

"Get your own, Arthur's the one paying me" I said, watching Daegal follow me into the staffroom as I made some coffee.

He sat down. "I'm so tired."

"Did you sleep well?" I asked him, frothing some milk.

He shrugged. "Yeah, I was warm. Warmer than usual. I think I just don't do well with alcohol and we went to bed pretty late."

"That's true" I agreed. "Well, don't worry. You can get a good sleep tonight when you go home. Do you guys have good heating where you are?"

He shook his head, graciously accepting the coffee I handed him. "No, it's pretty bad actually. Since we don't have any heating. Anyway, did you want me to take this to Arthur?"

I shook my head, smiling. "No, that's for you. I'm making Arthur's now."

"Thank you so much" he said, taking a sip. "Mm, it's nice,"

"Good" I said, smiling down at him, feeling the urge to kiss his forehead. I ignored the urge and instead made myself a coffee too. I took the two mugs in my hands. "Come on, I'll go give one to Arthur and then I have to book a meeting between Arthur and another client, Cedric. He also wants me to book him a vacation."

Daegal stood up. "Well, I guess we should go then."

I walked into Arthur's office, putting the coffee on his table. "Here you go, sir."

"Thanks, Merlin" he said, not looking up from his work. "By the way, is it possible for you to reorganise my entire file cabinet? I want it in alphabetical order."

"Well, I might not get it all done today. I still need to book some things, like your vacation" I pointed out.

"Yes, you will" he said. "You've got Daegal. He can help you out. I'm sure you'll finish it. And if you don't, you're staying back until it's done. I trust that you'll do it because I'm going out for the day with Guinevere."

I nodded, staying silent. "Yes, sir."

When I found Daegal sitting at my desk, I sighed. "Arthur wants us to redo his entire file cabinet to be in alphabetical order."

"I'm actually going to die" he said, sounding hysterical. "That cabinet is massive, there's no way we'll get it done today."

"Arthur said we're staying back until it's done" I told him. "We don't really have a choice."

Daegal and I were determined to get the whole thing done before home time, so we worked through our morning tea and lunch breaks. Morgana eventually walked in, hands on her hips, watching us as we sat on the floor, working. "What are you guys doing?"

"Reorganising the files" I stated, not stopping my work.

"So why did you two miss your breaks?" She asked.

Daegal shrugged. "Arthur said we have to get it done today."

"Oh, well, you still need to eat" she pointed out with a frown. "I'll get Gwaine to bring you guys something to eat."

"Thanks, Morgana" I managed to get out, smiling.

She smiled back, walking out. The younger boy sitting next to me sighed. "Merlin, do you think we'll finish at all? It's three o'clock now. We only have two hours and we're about halfway."

"Well, we started around ten, which means that it took us about five hours to finish. By my calculations we'll be done by eight o'clock. That's if we're lucky."

Gwaine then walked in with two boxes. "Here, I brought you guys dumplings and spring rolls."

"Thanks, Gwaine" I said, taking them from him and opening the containers up, handing one to Daegal.

"Are you sure the princess isn't overworking you?" He asked. "Because I can complain if you want."

My head agreed with him. It would be the smart thing to do. But my heart kept replaying how anxious Daegal was to keep this job, and I didn't want to stress him out even more. I shook my head. "Don't worry, I'm sure we'll be fine."

By nine o'clock, Daegal could barely keep his eyes open. "Oh, Merlin, I'm so sorry. I'm not even doing much work now."

"Sh, it's okay. You're tired, slow down" I said. "It's not that late, alright? It's just your brain is overworked from all the paperwork and reading."

The door opened and I looked up to see a frowning Arthur. "What are you guys doing?!"

"Your vacation's been booked. You leave on Thursday" I informed him.

"Merlin, why are you guys still here?! Go home!" He said, shaking his head frantically.

I raised an eyebrow. "You literally told us to stay back and finish."

"I know, but I didn't think you'd actually listen to me. You never do" he pointed out. "Go home, both of you. Is Daegal asleep?"

"Mm, yeah" I said, yawning. "Poor thing. And he has to catch a train home."

"Merlin, I'm so sorry. If I had known you'd actually listen to me, I wouldn't have said what I did" he told me.

I stood up. "It's okay. Maybe I can take him home. Hey, Daegal, wake up."

The boy's eyes fluttered open and as soon as he saw Arthur, he jumped up to his feet. "Sir. I am so sorry."

"No, I'm the one who should apologise" Arthur said. "I didn't think you guys would stay here this late. Go home, alright?"

"Thank you" he said, letting out a sigh of relief. "Alright, I'm going to go now."

I looked at him. "Do you want to come back with me? I'll drop you off. The train stations aren't exactly safe at night."

"Yeah, okay" he breathed out quietly, looking ready to collapse again.

"Arthur, why are you here?" I asked, curiously.

He smiled. "Forgot my mobile."

"Alright, we'll be off then" I said, waving at Arthur and bringing Daegal with me.

When we got into the car, he frowned. "Merlin, I'm so sorry."

I raised an eyebrow, starting the engine and putting my hands on the wheel. "What do you have to be sorry for? You didn't do anything."

"Exactly. I should've worked harder during the day" he said, shaking his head. "I literally fell asleep while you kept working."

"Daegal, you're supposed to be tired. Our hours are nine to five, not nine to nine. And you worked as hard as you could today, I'm proud of you" I said, smiling. "Don't beat yourself up."

He sent me a small smile, making my heart beat faster.

*

Over the next few weeks, Daegal settled in well, helping me out with all the chores Arthur gave me. I was nervous for the day that I would have to leave him by himself to work for the King himself. Arthur still wasn't particularly fond of the boy, and if he was, he definitely didn't show it. At least he was accepting his coffee now.

"Here, I made you some coffee" he said, walking up and placing a mug on my desk.

I smiled up at him, surprised. "Oh, thank you so much!"

"That's okay" he blushed. "I'll go give this one to Arthur."

"Of course. Try not to get killed. Wednesday's are his bad days, you know how he is" I chuckled, watching him bite his lip as he walked in.

Gwen walked up to my desk. "So, he's doing well."

I nodded, hoping that there wouldn't be any yelling. "Yeah, he picks up things really quickly. He's already got the format of lettering memorised in his head."

"I hope Arthur likes him" she said. "I don't think I can bear to watch the poor boy get hurt."

I nodded. "Definitely. I mean, I won't be far away from him, so I'll still hear Arthur's yelling once I move."

"Hello, ladies, what are we discussing?" Morgana asked, smiling her beautiful grin. "Are we talking about Arthur?"

Gwen stuttered. "No, we weren't saying anything bad, I was just saying that I hoped he'll get along with Daegal."

"Gwen, I don't really care what you say about him. I trash talk him all the time" she pointed out. "Where is Daegal anyways?"

As if on cue, the boy stumbled out of Arthur's office a frown on his face. Morgana pouted. "You're so cute, I can't handle you."

"Daegal, what's wrong? What did he do to you?" I asked, frowning.

"Um, nothing. He told me to tell you that you were supposed to email him his schedule for the day" he informed me, sitting down. "Hey, Gwen, Morgana."

Gwen smiled. "Hey, love. Merlin, you should probably get the schedule to him before he goes off."

"I already did" I said, going into my sent. "It delivered last night. I'll go talk to him. Daegal, you can go buy Arthur's morning tea if you'd like."

"Okay" the boy said, accepting the credit card I was offering him.

He walked out of the building, making Morgana smile. "I wish he wasn't gay. I would love him to death if he weren't. Well, I mean, I probably still would if he was gay, if he wanted me."

"How did you know he was gay?" I asked, raising an eyebrow.

Gwen snorted. "Merlin, everyone in the office knows that he's in love with you."

"What, no he's not" I said, shaking my head. "No way. I'm so old compared to him, there's no way he'd like me."

"I can't believe he didn't pick up on it" Morgana muttered to Gwen.

"Ladies, what are we talking about?" Gwaine asked, walking up and winking at me. "Is it me?"

Morgana rolled her eyes. "No, we're talking about Daegal's massive crush on Merlin. Isn't it obvious?"

"Of course it's obvious" he replied. "Cute as well. I never knew someone could be so in love."

"Excuse me, what do you think you guys are doing?!" Arthur roared, stepping out of his office.

"Discussing global climate change" Morgana said. "Arthur, you might want to go away, the language we're using is far too sophisticated for your illiterate mind."

He growled. "Morgana, go away! All of you! And Merlin, why didn't you email me my schedule?!"

"Arthur, I sent it to you last night, Jesus" I muttered, pointing at my screen. "It says that it delivered, if it didn't then it's not my fault. It must be your computer."

"Oh" Arthur said, scratching his chin. "I think I may have only checked for it this morning. It's not my fault that I'm used to you being incompetent."

"Wow, what a big word, Arthur. Is that what you call an apology?" Morgana asked. No one had moved away yet, meaning that everyone had hear his outburst.

Arthur shook his head. "Merlin, I am sorry that I looked at the wrong day. I was mistaken."

"That's okay, Arthur" I said, nodding.

"Here's your morning tea, Arthur" Daegal said, walking up to us with a smile. His smile dropped when he looked at everyone standing around us and the look on Arthur's face. "Is this a bad time?"

"Yes, obviously it is" Arthur said, rolling his eyes. "Are you blind?"

I growled. "Arthur, leave him alone. Daegal, just leave the food here until Arthur decides to stop being a prat and calm down. Arthur, go away."

Gwen winked at me, walking back to her desk. The rest followed suit and Daegal sat down next to me. "What happened?"

Arthur rolled his eyes, walking back into his office. "Fucking kids."

I rolled my eyes, before turning to the boy. "Arthur started yelling because I didn't send the schedule. Then he realised it was because I sent it last night and he attempted to apologise."

"Oh, I would've been scared if Arthur had yelled at me like that in front of everyone" he replied, looking at me. "Need me to do anything?"

"You can take a break if you want" I suggested. "No one else is on."

He nodded, standing up. "Alright. Thanks, Merlin. Do you want me to pick up anything for you? I'm going down to the café."

"No, I'm fine, thank you" I said, smiling and watching as he left. I then decided to do something dangerous. Barge into Arthur's office when he was pissed. "Arthur, you need to chill out."

He looked up at me, clearly angry. "Why?! I'm perfectly calm!"

"Sh, breathe" I said, shaking my head. "You're stressed out. You're working long hours. Now tell me why you're really upset."

"Merlin, I don't want you to leave me" he said, his anger now fading away. "You know how I am with change. You've been with me for three years now, I'm used to you."

I shook my head. "I know, I know. But things have been weird since we broke up. We never should've dated in the first place. But it happened, and you need to get over the fact that I'm leaving. It's not like I'm going to be in another country. And I know for a fact that you don't like me that much."

"True" he said, chuckling quietly. "I guess you're right. Maybe I have been a little angry."

"A little? You're scaring Daegal. I know he sometimes messes up, but he's a hell of a lot better than I was when I started. He's new, give him time" I said. "It's not his fault that he was put with you, okay?"

He nodded. "I know, I was thinking that. Sometimes I just can't control my anger."

"Well, figure it out and come get your morning tea that Daegal got you" I offered, leaving the office.

"Hey, Merlin, I bought you a muffin" Daegal said, walking up to my desk, mouth full of food.

I smiled up at him, taking the muffin into my hands. "Aw, thank you so much. How much was it? I'll pay you back."

"Nah, don't worry, it's on me" he said, walking back to the staffroom to take the rest of his break.

"Where's Daegal?" Arthur asked, walking up to me. "And why are you eating at your desk? You know I hate that."

"Sorry, I'm hungry" I said, my stomach growling. "Also, he's in the staffroom on his break. Why, did he do something wrong?"

He shook his head. "No, I just wanted to apologise to him. He's probably still scared of me. And also, pass me my food, will you?"

"Sure" I said, handing him the paper bag Daegal had bought. "Arthur, go easy on him. I don't want him leaving because he's scared, okay?"

"He won't leave, I'm perfectly nice. Especially when I want to be" he protested.

"Yeah, sure. I also know that your apologies are shitty. You always find a way to shift the blame onto the other person. So don't say any of that shit. Don't be like 'you're new, obviously you're going to be bad'. If I find out you've done something, I'm going straight to your dad" I threatened.

"Stop fucking my dad. And don't worry, I'll be nice" he said, rolling his eyes and walking off.

*

"Arthur apologised to me" Daegal told me as we sat in the café, eating lunch together.

I smiled. "How was it?"

"Weird. I think he was genuinely sorry about everything" he said, shrugging.

"I know" I said, eating some of my pasta. "I spoke to him. He was only upset at you because you were replacing me."

"Really?" He asked, looking sadder than I thought he would. "So like, is he still in love with you, or something, then?"

I frowned. "Daegal, we were never in love in the first place. And no, he's not still into me. It's just that Arthur isn't good with change and I've been his PA for three years now. I mean, he had a breakdown when I changed the lightbulb in the room because it was a different shade of yellow."

He smiled. "Oh, okay then. At least he doesn't actually hate me."

"I mean, it's a miracle that he even apologised to someone" I said, smiling. "I'm glad you guys are all better now."

As he laughed, I saw a mark on his neck. Was that a hickey? No, it was a bruise. I frowned. "Daegal, where'd you get that bruise?"

"What bruise?" He stuttered out.

"Was it Arthur?" I rushed out. If he had done anything, he was dead.

"No!" He replied, pretty convincingly too. "It wasn't him. I just walked into a door."

I frowned. "Really? You walked into a door with your neck sticking out at a 270 degree angle? You can tell me."

"Maybe I did" he said, biting his lip. "You don't know that I didn't."

"Daegal, I'm worried about you" I said, using a softer tone. "If it's Arthur, you need to report him."

"Fine, it wasn't him" he sighed. "It was the people I'm staying with."

I groaned. "A one time thing, right? And don't fucking lie to me anymore, Daegal."

"No" he admitted, shaking his head. "The dad. He, uh, usually stays where you can't see. Like my chest or stomach. But he accidentally bruised my neck while he was slamming me into a wall. I guess his grip was too tight."

The way he said the last statement made me sick. It was as though he was making a joke out of it. "How long have you been there?"

"Five years" he said, shrugging. "It was a couple of years after my mum died when they took me in."

"Why are you still there? You need to leave" I said, confused.

His eyes watered. "Because I don't want to be alone again. I don't have enough money, firstly. And besides, having people hurt you is better than having no one at all."

"That is so not true" I protested, thinking hard. I came to a decision. "You should stay with me."

"I can't" he said automatically. "You don't have enough space."

I shook my head. "Nonsense. Mithian is moving out in two weeks. She's going to live with her boyfriend. I needed to find a new roommate anyway."

"But what if you get sick of me?" He asked, biting his lip.

"That's stupid. I would never get sick of you" I said, laughing. "Come on, what do you say?"

He nodded, smiling wetly. "Okay."

*

When Daegal finally moved in, two weeks after Mithian had moved out, he showed up with only a backpack and a few pillows. I smiled. "Come on, I'll show you your room."

The boy loved the apartment and he always made sure he was cleaning up after himself. One night after dinner, I frowned. "You know, you don't have to do the dishes right away. You could come watch a movie with me or something."

"Oh, are you sure? You don't want me to finish them?" He asked, confused. In his mind, he probably thought that he was helping me out.

"Daegal, I don't keep you here so that you can clean up everything. You pay the rent here too" I said, frowning. "I can do it later. Just come sit down."

He obeyed me, sending me a cute smile as he sat on the couch. "What are we watching?"

"I don't know, what do you want to watch?" I asked, watching him frown. "We can use Netflix."

"Do you like Lord of the rings?" He asked slowly, looking unsure.

"I love it. Good choice" I said, putting on 'the fellowship of the ring'.

Halfway through the movie, he started shivering. I sighed. "Where's your jacket?"

"In the wash" he said, smiling innocently at me. "What, it was getting dirty. It's been cold lately."

"You need to buy another one" I said, rolling my eyes. "Come on. I'll warm you up."

He grinned, climbing under the blanket to spread his limbs across my body. "Thank you. You're the best."

I looked down at him. His lips were so pink and the happy look on his face finally made me lose all my self control. I pressed my lips to his, tasting the Chinese we had just eaten and little bit of something else. Something Daegal. He moaned, resting his hands on my chest and eventually curling his fists into my shirt. Obviously he had wanted me too.

I pulled away. "Oh, God, no. This is so wrong. You're so young."

"I'm not that young" he said, pouting. "I'm an adult. Why shouldn't you give me what I want? I want you, Merlin."

I sighed. "I can't believe I'm doing this."

He grinned against my mouth when I leaned in again. My tongue pushed into his mouth, making his own tangle around mine. When I pulled away, he continued to nibble at my lip, making me kiss him harder again. He chuckled, pulling away. "Finally. I thought you'd never kiss me."

"Me too" I admitted. "I didn't want to. You're so young. But I don't think I can ignore you now that I know what it's like to kiss you."

"Does that mean we're dating?" He asked, biting his lip, not letting go of my shirt, subconsciously or consciously, I didn't know.

"If you want to" I answered, feeling him kiss my neck.

"Of course I do" he said, shaking his head.

*

"You guys will be swapping over now" Uther informed us. "Hilda left yesterday, so Merlin, you can move into her old desk, and Daegal, you can stay in the desk you and Merlin were sharing."

Arthur shook his head in disbelief. "I still can't believe you stole my PA."

"Get over it, Arthur" I said, rolling my eyes. "Daegal's really talented and he makes as good a coffee as I do."

"Merlin's right" Uther agreed. "Now, I trust that you'll take proper care of Daegal, Arthur. Go do whatever you have to do now, boys."

I smiled, walking out of the room and following both Daegal and Arthur to our old desk. "Alright, I'll pack up my stuff."

"Are you sure I'll be okay by myself?" Daegal asked me.

Arthur groaned. "Oh, great. Now he's having second thoughts."

"Arthur, leave him alone" I said, rolling my eyes. "Yes, you'll be brilliant, Daegal. And even if you a problem, I'm like ten steps away, yeah?"

He nodded, taking a deep breath. "Okay, thank you, Merlin."

I met up with Daegal again about halfway during the day when he dragged me into a broom closet. I laughed. "You okay?"

He nodded. "Yeah, it's just-I think Arthur misses you."

"He what? I doubt it" I said, frowning. There was no way Arthur was missing me.

"Well, I mean, he barely talks to me, and when he does it's because he's telling me what he wants for lunch" he said, sounding frustrated. "I don't even know what he wants me to do with his paperwork. He hasn't said anything."

"Then it's not your fault if you don't do anything" I said, kissing his forehead and taking him into my arms. "Come on, sweetheart, you'll be okay. He just takes some time to warm up to people."

"Well, he's taking his sweet time" he said, wrapping his arms around my neck and pressing kisses to my lips.

I chuckled, kissing him back, pressing a kiss in between each word. "He'll love you."

"Oh my god, I knew it!" Morgana squealed, flinging the door open.

I sighed, untangling myself from my boyfriend. "Morgana, sh, be quiet, the whole office will hear you."

"Sorry, I'm just so excited! I knew you guys would get together!" She all but shouted.

"Who got together?" Gwaine's loud voice rang through.

I groaned. Now everyone was going to know. "Morgana, I hate you."

"Oh, shit. Guys, Merlin and Daegal are fucking!" Gwaine called out after seeing the two of us.

I grabbed Daegal's hand and led him out of the broom closet. There was no denying it now. Gwen ran up to me. "Oh, I'm so happy! You guys are so sweet together!"

"We weren't having sex" Daegal pointed out.

Arthur walked out of his office to see everyone standing around us. "What is going on?! I swear, my dad leaves for five minutes and this is what you guys get up to?!"

"Daegal and Merlin are dating!" Will yelled out, grinning widely. "I always knew you had it in you, Merlin."

"Thanks" I said slowly.

Arthur frowned, looking at me. "How long?"

I shrugged. "I don't know. Two months?"

"Why didn't you tell me?" He asked, looking genuinely betrayed.

I sighed. "Maybe we should talk in private."

"Yeah, alright. Come to my office" he said, walking in.

"I'll be right back" I said, kissing Daegal's forehead and hearing a few 'aw's as I walked into the small office room. I frowned. "Arthur, what's wrong? Why are you so upset?"

"People accept you being gay" he stated.

I frowned. "Would you rather they not?"

"Not, it's not that" he dismissed. "It's just that I feel like I won't be accepted if I decide to date another guy. How can you be so confident? Why didn't you deny dating him?"

"Because I am dating him" I answered simply. "I'm only confident because of how well everyone accepted us last time."

Arthur sighed. "But what if no one accepts me? What about my dad?"

"You're dating Gwen, don't worry" I said, shrugging. "If you just keep pretending to be straight, you won't have a problem. Except not being able to get it up during sex. How do you deal with that?"

"Merlin, shut up. I was planning on breaking up with her. She started talking about kids and it scared me" he admitted. "I'd rather be with a guy. I'm just worried about my dad."

"Here's my advice; do whatever the fuck you want to. Morgana loves gay people, she'll fuck your dad up if he tries anything" I stated. "Not only that, but your dad loves me and he knows that we dated. I'm 100% sure he'll accept you. Even more than when we dated."

He bit his lip. "Wow, thanks. That was actually pretty good advice. I'll break up with Gwen. And also, why were you making out with Daegal in the broom closet?"

"I was making out with him" I said, rolling my eyes. "He was upset because you were ignoring him, and didn't give him anything to do. He thought you missed me."

"As if I miss you, you're right down the hall" he pointed out. "I'm just not used to having someone else. Maybe I'll talk to him."

*

"How could he have been so mean to me?" Gwen asked, crying into my shoulder. "I don't understand what I did."

"Gwen, he already said he's gay. That's not your fault" I pointed out, rubbing her back.

Mum, who had decided to visit after I told her about my new boyfriend, sighed. "At least you didn't do anything. It was always going to be this way, Gwen."

Daegal walked in. "Gwen, I made you some brownies. Do you want ice cream with them?"

"Oh, thank you so much, you angel" Gwen said, sobbing.

Mithian walked in with tea for everyone. "Oh, boy, there's a lot of emotion here."

Daegal walked in, handling Gwen a bowl filled with chocolate brownies and vanilla ice cream, then taking a seat in between my mum and I on the couch. I turned to him. "Thanks for doing that."

"That's okay" he said, smiling up at me.

Mum grinned at my boyfriend. "You are just so sweet."

He blushed, smiling at her. "Thank you. So are you, Hunith."

Later my mum came up to me. "I really like him, Merlin. I think he's good for you."

"He is. He's perfect" I said, smiling fondly and watching the boy wash up some bowls. "Hey, baby, leave those. I'll wash them tonight."

He turned off the tap. "Are you sure?"

I nodded. "Yeah, just come sit with Mum and I."

He walked over to the couch, plopping himself down next to me. "Hi."

I kissed his lip lightly. "Hi, where's your jacket?"

"Would you believe that it's in the wash?" He asked me pushing his cold hands under my shirt.

I rolled my eyes. "I bought you two hoodies and a jacket last week."

He shrugged, kissing me. "I just want a hug."

I held him tight, pressing a kiss to the top of his head. "You're a dork."


End file.
